Thursday, February 4, 2016

Mayor de Blasio addressing the media after finally emerging from his SUV more than fifteen minutes after pulling into City Hall. The Mayor is pushing a bill that would restricted carriage horses to Central Park as well as have the tax payers foot the bill to relocate the horse carriage industry into a Parks Department owned building in the park. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

The City Council will not be voting on the Mayor's controversial horse-drawn carriage bill.

The move comes after the carriage license owners voted not to support Teamster's Local 553 deal with the Mayor.The Teamsters themselves finally backed out after a rash of negative publicity.“We negotiated in good faith with the City Council and the Teamsters to reach this agreement,” Mr. de Blasio said in a statement."The terms of that agreement have not changed during these past weeks, but today the Teamsters decided to back away from the fair compromise they had previously endorsed. While we are disappointed this bill will no longer be considered Friday, the people of this city know what I believe, and we will work toward a new path on this issue.”"The Council will not vote on any horse carriage related legislation on Friday since the Teamsters no longer support the deal,” Speaker MelissaMark-Viverito said in statement. The Council said they had "sufficient votes to pass the legislation, but will not be moving it because the legislation was predicated on the agreement."Several council members said they had expressed to Speaker Mark-Viverito their strong to desire to get away from the issue."The votes just weren't there. Let's move on," a Council member said today speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The Mayor sat in his SUV surrounded by aids and security for fifteen minutes after arriving at City Hall.

The Mayor sat in his SUV for fifteen minutes after arriving at City Hall after seeing a phalanx of reporters and members of the horse-drawn carriage industry who had just finished a press conference.He finally emerged, briefly addressed the media and abruptly left. “I’m obviously disappointed that the vote won’t happen,” the mayor said.“You all know my views on this issue," he added. "We’re going to find a way forward."

The administration has not fared well on this issue following a disastrous public hearing on the bill two weeks ago where officials struggled to answer even basic questions. "The hearing was ridiculous, they couldn't answer anything," a Council member said today who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. A steady stream of opponents emerged since the January hearing including the Transport Workers Union and the Central Labor Council.The Central Park Conservancy, which manages the park under a legal agreement with the City and raises 75 percent of its operating budget from private donations because the city refuses to, sent an email to members last Thursday saying it had, “significant concerns” about the plan.NYCLASS - who waged an expensive campaign which many credit with helping the mayor get elected - supported the deal which, as critics point out, should not come as a surprise.

The Mayor's proposed new $ 25 million dollar home for the carriage horse industry in Central Park. The park’s Department’s 86th Street Shops building.

For weeks the administration had tried its best to claim that the seventy-five horses, and sixty-eight carriages planned for Central Park would fit into the existing footprint of the Parks Department’s 86th Street shops.

When everyone with knowledge of the plan knew was impossible.

The administration finally admited in a "Fact Sheet" sent to select Council members what was coming."There may need to be a new structure to house the carriages. The new structure would be contained within the same lot.”